THE United ace is determined to impress Polish goalkeeping guru Andrzej Dawidziuk by securing cup victory over St Johnstone.

Dundee Utd goalkeeper Radoslaw Cierzniak hopes he can take the Scottish Cup back to Tannadice. (Photo: SNS Group)

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KEEPER Rado Cierzniak will have almost 30,000 Arabs for support at Celtic Park today but the Dundee United No.1 is just delighted to have one man in his Scottish Cup corner.

Andrzej Dawidziuk is a Polish goalkeeping guru who kicked it all off for Rado as a kid – the man involved in his nation’s impressive production line which produced renowned glovesmen such as Artur Boruc, Lukasz Fabianski, Jerzy Dudek, Wojciech Szczesny and former United No.1 Lukasz Zaluska.

The coach is heading over to Scotland to cheer on his protege – along with pal Zaluska – and Cierzniak is determined to put on a show for his old mentor.

Cierzniak said: “My father-in-law is coming to the game and my first coach from the school Andrzej.

“He was the coach who taught Zaluska, Fabianski, myself and others. I’m very happy he’s coming for the Final because he’s a very important person to me.

“Andrzej called to say he could come and I was happy. He helped me a lot with my life, not just football but personal life too.

“He’s my mentor so I’m always in touch with him and we speak a lot. I first met him when I was 14. Goalkeeping schools are popular in Poland so the goalkeeper coach is very important.

“Every year goalies go to this school and he selected me. The school is still there at MSP Szamotuly which is about 20 miles from Poznan.

“There are young goalkeepers there and it is very popular. It’s not just for goalkeepers.

“When I was 14 I was quite a good boy. I never had a problem because before that I was living with my parents in a small city.

“For me training at the popular school was something special. I always appreciated it and I worked hard every day.

“Every young player sometimes has a problem but overall I was pretty well behaved!”

Cierzniak is also thrilled to have Celtic back-up keeper Zaluska behind him this afternoon. He said: “I meet Lukasz almost every week. He’s one of my best friends and he’s very happy I am playing in the Final.

“He’s coming to the Final as well to support me. He will come along also because it’s at Celtic’s stadium and he knows everything about the place.”

Ciernziak will get advice from his best pal but he’s just glad he will be able to have an influence on the game after being frozen out of his last final.

He said: “This will be my second cup final but the first time I’m hopefully going to play. So this is the first big one.

“In the first one I was reserve goalkeeper for Korona Kielce when we got to the Polish Cup Final.

“It was hard, especially for me. I am a nervous person. Sitting on the bench it was too nervous for me.

“I prefer to play on the pitch. On the bench it was so difficult looking while my friends were playing out there and we lost 1-0.”

The Polish Cup Final is one thing but Cierzniak knows the Scottish version is a different ball game.

He said: “The Cup in Poland isn’t as big a deal as here. That’s why this is a very good experience for me.

“I know in Scotland and the rest of the UK people love football, I feel much more than in Poland. But I know the Cup is always very important here so I’m very happy I can play in the Final.

“After the semi-final when we beat Rangers some press called to ask me about it.

“People in Poland know it’s the Scottish Cup and how important it is here so they are all interested.

“I have a couple of journalists coming from Poland wanting to speak to me about the Final.

“It’s good for my profile but I don’t worry about that. I prefer to show what I can do on the pitch.

“The big crowd is not a problem. The worst game is played without a crowd at a small stadium. It’s hard for every player.

“The best thing is to feel the supporters at your back. It’s very helpful for me and my team. So I’m very happy it will probably be a full stadium.”